The 10-story mixed-used building that replaced the old Office Depot at 16th and Market was recently sold to a Chicago real estate investment group. (Photo provided by Doors Open Denver.)

The mixed-use building that went up on the site of the old Office Depot on the 16th Street Mall has been sold to LaSalle Investment Management, the Chicago-based real estate investment manager announced Tuesday.

The sale price for 16M, the 10-story, 189,284-square-foot LEED-certified building at 16th and Market streets, was not immediately available. Current office tenants include the regional headquarters of Morgan Stanley, D.A. Davidson and The ONE Group, an international restaurant group that plans to open the first U.S. location of upscale steakhouse STK Rebel in the building. Ground-floor retail features Panera Bread and Garbanzo Mediterranean Grill.

Colorado is cheapest state in the county when it comes to the cost of energy, according to a survey by WalletHub, the personal finance website.

WalletHub’s review is based on eight measures: average monthly electricity consumption and retail electric price; average monthly consumption of natural gas and its retail price; average motor fuel price and miles travel; average monthly home heating oil consumption and the price of heating oil.

Toting up all those factors Colorado came out with the lowest energy bill followed by Washington State, Oregon and Arizona. Thanks to all the hydropower in the Northwest, Washington has the lowest residential electricity rates in the nation at 8.8 cents a kilowatt-hour, according to the federal Energy Information Administration.

Washington, D.C., actually placed first, with a total monthly energy cost of $223, but it isn’t a state and benefits from among other things being more compact and having a lower gasoline bills. Drivers in Wyoming, which is a darn sight bigger and more spread out than the district, had a motor-fuel consumption rate three times as high as those in D.C. drivers.

Wyoming was the second most expensive state for energy after Connecticut, which has an average electricity charge of 22.2 cents a kilowatt-hour compared with 12 cents in Colorado and 10.9 cents in Wyoming. Connecticut also has homes that rely on expensive home-heating oil.Read more…

The Rally Software Building in Boulder was recently sold to Texas-based Lionstone Investments. (Photo courtesy of CBRE)

The Rally Software Building in Boulder has been sold to Houston-based Lionstone Investments, commercial real estate firm CBRE announced Thursday.

The sales price for the 154,476-square-foot office property at 3333 Walnut St. was not disclosed. The property, built in phases in 1998 and 2014, was 100 percent leased to Rally Software at the time of the sale June 17. Rally has a long-term lease commitment in place and its tenancy was not affected by the sale, according to a CBRE spokeswoman.

“Lionstone is thrilled to be in the Boulder market. This area is highly educated and is home to an innovative and growing tech industry,” said Lionstone Investments CEO Jane Page in a statement. “The Rally Software Building offers tenants top of the line amenities and the campus environment their talent prefers.”

Walter’s Pizzeria in Littleton served and delivered to a client of Cater2.me during a test run in June.

San Francisco-based startup Cater2.me, which connects local food vendors with businesses that require catering on a consistent basis, is opening a Denver location on Monday.

The company says it has the remedy for tired, boring company lunch meetings and other company-sponsored meals.

“It’s so much going on (in Denver),” said Alex Lorton, the co-founder of Cater2.me. “It was a no-brainier to include it in this round of expansion.”

Denver will be the eighth city where the company has expanded. Others include New York, Washington, D.C., Boston and Austin, Texas. Lorton said Denver’s growing population, rising economy and highly rated foods are all reasons to come to the Mile High City.

Cater2.me, whose office is at 1368 26th St., serves as the middle man between corporations and food vendors. The staff researches the best local vendors from catering businesses, food trucks, private chefs, restaurants and market vendors and gets those companies to partner with them.

The restaurant at 3244 Youngfield St. announced Tuesday that it will institute a no-tipping policy starting July 20.

Instead of tipping, diners will be required to pay a 20 percent service charge on their checks that will go directly to restaurant payroll and benefits, according to a news release. Customers will still be able to evaluate their experience via a confidential survey provided with each check.

Under the change, all servers, whether salaried or hourly, will be paid a minimum of $20/hour, according to the release. The average kitchen wage will go up to $14.50/hour, from $11/hour. Most servers will be moved to a 34-hour salaried work week and will receive two weeks of paid sick leave/vacation and discretionary annual bonuses. Restaurant owners are also exploring health-care options for full-time employees.

“All of our employees are like family and they deserve to be treated like family,” restaurant owner Nancy Progar said in a statement. “Everyone who works in our restaurant deserves a living wage. Happier employees mean better food and service which results in happier customers. While this approach to compensation will be slightly more expensive for us, we feel that it will allow us to be more successful in the future. In addition, we believe that a customer’s written review will be a much better vehicle for feedback and improvement than an arbitrary tip.”

Abrusci’s follows in the footsteps of some very well known restaurants across the U.S. Among those that have replaced tipping with surcharges or all-inclusive prices are Alinea in Chicago, Chez Panisse in Berkeley, French Laundry in Napa Valley and Per Se in New York.

Bella Terra at City Center, a 304-apartment community in Aurora, was one of two properties recently purchased by Steadfast Apartment REIT. (Photo provided by Steadfast Apartment REIT)

Two Aurora apartment complexes with a combined 664 units have been sold to a California-based real estate investment trust for $91 million.

Steadfast Apartment REIT announced the purchase of Bella Terra at City Center and Hearthstone at City Center over the holiday weekend. It’s the first Denver-area properties for the investment group, which owns properties in eight states, according to a news release. They also have an apartment community in Colorado Springs.

The Aurora properties, both built in the 1980s, will “undergo a moderate revitalization strategy to its unit interiors and exterior common areas,” Steadfast said.

Unico Properties has purchased the Denver Club Building at 518 17th St. (Photo courtesy of Unico Properties)

The new owner of the Denver Club Building on 17th Street is planning $10 million in improvements to common areas and tenant spaces “to bring the building into the 21st century.”

Unico Properties, a Seattle-based real estate investment and operating company, announced the purchase last week. The 231,454-square-foot office building at 518 17th St. is named for the private Denver Club, which has resided on the site since 1888. The current building, a 24-story mid-century modern high-rise, was built in 1954 and is 82 percent leased.

Improvements, Unico said in a news release, will modernize the building while “staying true to the mid-century modern architecture that has endured for more than half a century.” The building still has its original floors, as well as a chapel built for Mamie Eisenhower, the wife of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, for use during her visits to the Brown Palace.

William Harrison delivers pizzas including a Hot Dog Bites Pizza on Wednesday, June 24, 2015 at the Caterpillar plant in Aurora, Colorado. Pizza Hut has released their new creation the Hot Dog Bites Pizza which is a pizza with hot dogs wrapped in the crust of the pizza. (Brent Lewis, The Denver Post)

With his blonde hair poking out of the back of his cap, William Harrison, 25, of Aurora, dashes on a Wednesday afternoon from his delivery car into the Pizza Hut on Chambers Road and Colfax Avenue in Aurora.

Once inside, he hands the manager the receipt from the previous order and the cash he received. While he waits for his tip and the cash for his bank – never more than $15 for safety reasons — he grabs another delivery order and checks it for accuracy. Before heading back out, he grabs some condiments and soda for the customers who ordered it.

Three minutes, in and out. Then Harrison is headed to another house, business or even school. This time, he was headed to Caterpillar plant to deliver Pizza Hut’s new Hot Dog Bites Pizza. Read more…

Denver’s Frontier Airlines is turning 21, and they’re throwing a party where you get the gift of cheap tickets.

From Denver, travelers can fly one-way to Austin, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, Bozeman, Kansas City and Las Vegas for $21. Tickets must be purchased by 11:59 p.m. June 30 and are good for travel on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays from Aug. 22, 2015 through Nov. 18, 2015 and Dec. 2, 2015 through Dec. 16, 2015.

Other routes are on sale from $39 to $99.

Buy a $21 ticket, take the ride. (Frontier)

And, if humans dressed up like big furry “spokes animals” handing out birthday cake won’t give you nightmares, the airline plans to throw a “pre-flight birthday party” on July 6 for their party flight to Las Vegas. Winners of a recent social media contest will board, along with other passengers, for a party in the sky that includes giveaways and free champagne.

Laura Keeney writes about aerospace and airlines for The Post. When she's not at work, you can usually find her taking in live music, reading voraciously, or doing something science-related and nerdy. She also loves The Clash ... a lot.

Emilie Rusch covers retail and commercial real estate for The Post. A Wisconsin native and Mizzou graduate, she moved to Colorado in 2012. Before that, she worked at a small daily newspaper in South Dakota. It's the one with Mount Rushmore.